Zero Tolerance Ch. 03

"I know that doesn't make any sense but I was pretty messed up while all that was happening. It wasn't until I realized that you were really leaving that I understood how foolish I had been."

"Why did you wait so long before coming to my office to ask me to meet with you? Was it so you would have time to make up this story?" I asked.

"What I told you is the truth. I knew there was noting I could do to fix what I had done," she said. "I thought that even if you would talk to me you wouldn't believe anything I said and even if you did believe me I still didn't think you would ever forgive me."

"So why talk to me at all?"

"I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would be served divorce papers so I had to take a chance. Not for me but for us. You, me and the baby. I'm pregnant."

I looked at Susan as if she was crazy. "You're telling me you're pregnant now?" I said.

"I expected that you wouldn't believe me but it's true. When the baby is born you can request a DNA test and then you'll know that I am telling you the truth," she said.

"So what now? Am I supposed to get all excited that you're going to have my baby and coming running back to you as if nothing happened?" I asked.

"No. I don't expect you to do anything. I just wanted you to know everything, especially that you are going to be a father. What you do beyond that is up to you."

I was angry with her for cheating. Even if she was telling the truth about what happened, which I actually believed she was, I was still angry with her for being so stupid and compromising our marriage the way she did. Was she really pregnant? Why would she lie about that? If the baby were mine I would certainly want to be a part of his or her life. But what do I do about Susan? My emotions were so screwed up at that point I couldn't think straight. When Susan slid out of the booth and started to walk out of Jimmer's I was unable to do anything except watch her leave.

I spent the next two hours sitting in the booth at Jimmer's trying to digest everything that Susan had told me and trying to understand how I felt about it. Did I believe her? If everything she told me was true what would I do about it. Could I overlook her sexual liaison with John Fisher? Most importantly, how do I handle the news of Susan's pregnancy? Is that enough of a reason to go back to her? All of these questions were spinning around in my head that afternoon.

The first clear thought that came to me was that I would have to do something about John Fisher. It didn't matter whether I believed everything that Susan told me or not, John Fisher played a part in this and he was not going to get away unscathed. The problem was figuring out what to do about him. My preferred solution would have been to beat the shit out of him but I would probably end up in jail and he wasn't worth it.

I spent the rest of that afternoon and evening deciding what I would do about Fisher, not because it was the most important thing I had to do but because my feelings about Susan were too confused for me to deal with them at that time. I ran through several scenarios before deciding on a plan of action that I thought would actually work.

The next morning I went to work and cleared up a few tasks that needed my attention. Then I took a small tape recorder from my desk, put it in my pocket and then I walked down to pay John Fisher a visit. I was aware that anything I recorded without John's permission would be useless in a court of law but that wasn't why I wanted to record our meeting. I could almost see John's body stiffen as I entered his office.

"Hey, John, You got a minute?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure. Come on in," he said.

John was watching me closely, seemingly worried about what I might do.

"John, I have been hearing a lot of rumors about the take over by Clay. I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions about it?" I said.

John leaned back in his chair and I could see the tension leaving his body. I could tell from his behavior that John figured that I didn't know about his afternoon with Susan. That meant that Susan hadn't told him that I found out. That was a point in Susan's favor.

"You know, Mark, I can't really say much about this? Nothing is official yet," John said.

"I heard that there is a list of names of employees that will be kept on after the take over. I was just wondering if you could tell me if my name is on that list,," I said.

"Mark, I can't confirm or deny the existence of a list and I really can't say anything else on that subject," he said.

John appeared to be completely relaxed with me. It was time to strike.

"I just figured that since Susan fucked you to get our names on your list you could at least confirm that you did what you said you were going to do," I said.

I watched the color drain from John's face and he quickly straightened up in his chair.

"What are you talking about? Nothing like that ever happened," he said.

"Are you denying that you had sex with Susan?" I asked.

"I have nothing more to say to you," he said. "Plase leave my office now or I will call security."

"You won't call security," I said, "because I have proof of what you did and I am sure that once I make it public there will be a lot of female employees of Dyson that will come forward to testify that you made them have sex with you to get a job at Dyson."

I could now see the fear in John's eyes.

"What do you want? Your name is on the list already. You don't have to worry about your job," he said. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you have a job with the new company."

"That's not what I want," I said. "I want you to destroy the list you made and then resign from Dyson effective immediately."

"You can't make me do that. You don't have any proof that I had sex with Susan in exchange for putting your names on the list. I'll deny that there is any such list and say that Susan made this whole thing up,"

"That might have worked if I hadn't found out about your liaison with Susan by finding the condom you used. I have it safely wrapped in my freezer at home. There is DNA from both you and Susan on that condom which proves that you had sex with her," I said.

"All that proves is that two consenting adults willingly had sex together. It'll be my word against Susan's. No one will be able to prove that I promised her anything in exchange for sex."

"I never really knew how slimy a piece of shit you are," I said. "The problem for you is that it doesn't really matter what went on in the back of Susan's van that afternoon because you had sex with the wife of a fellow employee and if that isn't bad enough, your position as Director of Human Resources puts you into a position of power over Susan. I plan to file a complaint with Mr. Dyson and copy the HR department at Clay International. I will accuse you of destroying my marriage by having an affair with my wife. I will further claim that you used your position with the company to coerce her into having sex with you. I would also expect that the local news media would pick up this story. Mr. Dyson will have no choice but to fire you and the publicity you will receive will ruin any chance you have of getting a job anywhere in the Southeastern United States. I will then file suit against you for alienation of affection."

"The way I see it the only choice you have is to resign from Dyson today and get out of town."

"Can you give me a little more time?" Fisher asked. "I need a couple of days to figure out what I am going to do."

"I'll tell you what," I said. "Since I am a nice guy I will give you some time. The same amount of time you gave Susan to decide if she would have sex with you to protect our jobs."

"I need more time than that," Fisher said.

I pulled the little tape recorder out of my pocket and set it on the desk in front of John. "Thanks, John, you just confirmed everything that Susan had told me and now I have it on tape. I'll sit here and answer your phone if it rings while you type your letter of resignation."

"You are a real bastard," Fisher said.

"I am when I have to be," I said.

I sat with John Fisher as he typed up his letter of resignation and I watched him e-mail it to Mr. Dyson and sent a copy to the HR department at Clay international. Five minutes later Mr. Dyson called John's office and I answered the phone. Mr. Dyson asked for an explanation for Fisher's resignation and I told him it was to avoid causing a sexual harassment scandal at Dyson. I didn't need to say more than that. Mr. Dyson sent two people from security to watch Fisher pack his personal belongings and then they escorted him from the building.

I went back to my office and closed my door. I sat at my desk and tried to decide on my next move until it became clear to me what I had to do.

*****

"Hello, Dyson Electronics, Susan Lewis speaking."

"Mrs. Lewis, how would you like to have dinner with you husband tonight?"

"Mark, do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"I would love to but only if you promise not to ask me any more questions about what I did," Susan said.

"I don't want to talk about that either. I want to talk about us, our future and our coming child."

"Does this mean that you still love me?"

"Absolutely."

As I put the phone down it occurred to me that I might be wrong. Maybe Susan had lied to me. Maybe there was more to her encounter with John Fisher than she told me. The evidence seemed to point to her telling the truth but anything was possible. I only knew that I loved her too much to not be with her. Only time will tell if I was right.

The End.